Dist. 21, Part 1, Art. 3, Q. 1
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 21
Articulus III. De liberatione a purgatorio.
Quaestio I. Utrum in purgatorio unus liberetur ante alium.
Consequenter quantum ad tertium articulum quaeritur de liberatione a purgatorio. Et circa hoc quaeruntur duo. Primo quaeritur, utrum unus liberetur ante alium. Secundo, utrum aliquis evolet ante extremum iudicium.
Quantum ergo ad primum ostenditur, quod unus liberetur ante alium:
1. Primo per illud quod dicit Apostolus primae ad Corinthios tertio1: Qui aedificat ligna, foenum, stipulam; sed facilius et citius consumitur stipula quam lignum: ergo cum aliquis ferat stipulam, aliquis ferat lignum, videtur, quod citius liberetur unus quam alius.
2. Item, in littera2 habetur, et est verbum Augustini in Enchiridio: «Post hanc vitam incredibile non est, nonnullos fideles per ignem purgatorium3, quanto magis minusve bona pereuntia dilexerunt, tanto citius tardiusque salvari».
3. Item, in foro poenitentiae graviori culpae respondet gravior poena non solum quantum ad intensionem, sed etiam quantum ad durationem, ut patet inspicienti canones, in quibus poenitentiae taxantur4: si ergo iudicium Ecclesiae rectum conforme est divino iudicio, patet etc.
4. Item, per peccatum meruit anima non solum in igne cremari, sed etiam5 Dei visione privari: ergo utroque modo debet temporaliter puniri: ergo
qui gravius peccavit non solum acerbius puniri, verum etiam diutius debet a Dei visione separari, ergo tardius purgari.
Contra: 1. Quantumcumque merita sint inaequalia, tam in caelo quam in inferno sunt praemia et supplicia aequaliter durantia: ergo pari ratione, ut videtur, debet esse in poena purgatoria.
2. Item, secundum quod intensior est culpa, intensior ei redditur poena; sed quantum potest minor poena super minorem culpam, tantum potest maior super maiorem: ergo quam cito liberatur in purgatorio parvus peccator per parvam poenam, tam cito liberatur magnus peccator per magnam poenam.
Item, si alius citius alio liberatur6, aut ratione maioris caritatis, aut ratione minoris reatus. Ratione maioris caritatis, videtur: quia caritas est tanto maior, quanto anima est Deo similior, et quanto Deo est similior, tanto statui gloriae vicinior: ergo tanto citius curatur et purgatur et in caelum fertur. — Sed quod ratione minoris reatus, videtur: quia anima non est ibi nisi ad solvendum quod traxit ex hac vita; sed quanto debitum est minus, tanto citius solvitur: ergo videtur, quod talis citius purgetur et in caelum feratur.
Conclusio. In purgatorio unus citius quam alius purgatur.
Respondeo: Dicendum, quod, sicut dicit Augustinus expresse in littera7, in illo igne citius purgatur unus quam alius. Qui enim diutius in peccato permansit, dignum est, ut diutius sustineat poenam; rursus, qui gravius offendit, dignum est, ut puniatur poena acerbiori et dilatione patriae longiori, divina hoc iustitia faciente, quae omnibus decentissime reddit stipendia meritorum.
1. Ad illud quod obiicitur in contrarium de aequalitate durationis in caelo, dicendum, quod non8 est simile: quia in inferno poena aeterna infligitur, et aeterno non est maius et minus ex parte post sive ex parte ea, qua est aeternum; similiter in caelo praemium aeternum datur; in purgatorio vero sola poena temporalis infligitur, et in hac est diutius et brevius.
2. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod poena gravis aeque cito delet gravem etc. dicendum, quod verum esset, si omnino poena intenderetur secundum quod intenditur culpa; sed divina dispensatio9 sic ordinat, ut non omnino intendatur quantum ad acerbitatem, propter magnam difficultatem1b sive etiam, quia vult utroque modo punire, ita ut maior acerbitas et diuturnitas recompensent, si quid in altero deficiebat.
Ad illud quod quaeritur, quis citius purgatur; dicendum, quod ille qui minorem habet reatum, quoniam locus purgatorius non est debitus nisi ratione reatus, vel alicuius culpae. Et si tu obiicias, quod caritas maior debet facere citius evolare; dicendum, quod caritas maior auget gloriam intensive, secundum autem durationem non. Unde si duo innocentes inaequalis caritatis simul2b morerentur, simul evolarent, non tamen aequaliter beati essent. Quod ergo dicit, quod est similior statui gloriae; dicendum, quod verum est ratione ordinationis ad bonum, sed non magis quantum ad liberationem a malo; et velocior purgatio respicit ereptionem a malo directe, non habilitationem ad bonum.
I. De ipsa conclusione 1. quaestionis non est controversia. Tamen S. Thom. (hic q. 1. a. 3. quaestiunc. 3.) rationem longioris purgationis ponit in maiore adhaerentia, qua affectus magis inclinatur ad quaedam venialia quam ad alia. De nonnulla differentia opinionum cfr. Richard. a Med., hic a. 1. q. 2. — De 1. quaestione praeter S. Thomam: Alex. Hal., S. p. IV. q. 15. m. 4. a. 4. § 3. — B. Albert., supra d. 20. a. 5. — Petr. a Tar., hic circa lit.
II. Animas beatas, plene purgatas, de quibus agitur in 2. quaestione, statim ad visionem Dei pervenire, a pluribus negatum vel in dubium vocatum est tum primis Ecclesiae saeculis, tum saec. XIV, sedente Ioanne XXII, qui aliquatenus ut doctor privatus huic errori favisse dicitur, nunquam tamen assertive eum docuit. Sed veritas catholica, quae iam in confessione fidei a Michaele Paleologo Concilio Lugdunensi II. (1274) oblata, clare exprimitur, postea a Benedicto XII. (Constit. Benedictus Deus, an. 1336), deinde a Concilio Florent. (Decret. unionis Graecorum) aliisque professionibus fidei definita est. — De 2. quaestione: Alex. Hal., loc. cit. § 4. — B. Albert., hic a. 10. — Petr. a Tar., infra d. 45. q. 1. a. 1. quaestiunc. 2. — Alii antiqui non tractant explicite hanc quaestionem, sed passim conclusionem supponunt.
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Article III. On the deliverance from purgatory.
Question I. Whether in purgatory one is freed before another.
Consequently, as to the third article, the inquiry concerns deliverance from purgatory. And concerning this two things are asked. First, it is asked whether one is freed before another. Second, whether anyone flies forth before the final judgment.
As to the first, then, it is shown that one is freed before another:
1. First, by that which the Apostle says in the First [Letter] to the Corinthians, chapter three1: He who builds wood, hay, stubble; but stubble is consumed more easily and more quickly than wood: therefore, since one bears stubble and another bears wood, it seems that one is freed more quickly than another.
2. Likewise, it is had in the [Master's] text2, and it is a word of Augustine in the Enchiridion: «After this life it is not incredible that some of the faithful are saved through a purgatorial fire3, more quickly or more slowly according as they loved perishing goods more or less».
3. Likewise, in the court of penance a graver penalty corresponds to a graver fault, not only as to intensity, but also as to duration, as is clear to one inspecting the canons, in which the penances are assessed4: if therefore the right judgment of the Church is conformed to the divine judgment, it is clear etc.
4. Likewise, through sin the soul has merited not only to be burned in the fire, but also5 to be deprived of the vision of God: therefore in both ways it ought to be punished temporally: therefore
he who has sinned more gravely ought not only to be punished more sharply, but also to be separated longer from the vision of God, therefore to be purged more slowly.
On the contrary: 1. However unequal the merits may be, both in heaven and in hell the rewards and punishments endure equally: therefore by parity of reasoning, as it seems, it ought to be so in the purgatorial pain.
2. Likewise, according as the fault is more intense, a more intense penalty is rendered to it; but a lesser penalty can do as much over a lesser fault as a greater can over a greater: therefore as quickly as the small sinner is freed in purgatory through a small penalty, just as quickly the great sinner is freed through a great penalty.
Likewise, if one is freed more quickly than another6, [it is] either by reason of greater charity, or by reason of lesser liability. By reason of greater charity, it seems [so]: because charity is the greater the more the soul is like to God, and the more it is like to God, the nearer to the state of glory: therefore so much the more quickly is it healed and purged and borne into heaven. — But that [it is] by reason of lesser liability, it seems [so]: because the soul is there only to pay off what it drew from this life; but the less the debt is, the more quickly it is paid off: therefore it seems that such a one is purged more quickly and borne into heaven.
Conclusion. In purgatory one is purged more quickly than another.
I respond: It must be said that, as Augustine says expressly in the [Master's] text7, in that fire one is purged more quickly than another. For he who has remained longer in sin, it is fitting that he should bear the penalty longer; again, he who has offended more gravely, it is fitting that he be punished with a sharper penalty and a longer deferral of the fatherland, the divine justice doing this, which most becomingly renders to all the wages of [their] merits.
1. To that which is objected to the contrary concerning the equality of duration in heaven, it must be said that it is not8 similar: because in hell an eternal penalty is inflicted, and in the eternal there is no greater and lesser on the side of the after, or on the side of that whereby it is eternal; likewise in heaven an eternal reward is given; but in purgatory only a temporal penalty is inflicted, and in this there is longer and shorter.
2. To that which is objected, that a grave penalty as quickly does away with a grave [fault] etc., it must be said that it would be true, if the penalty were intensified entirely according as the fault is intensified; but the divine dispensation9 so orders [things] that it is not intensified entirely as to sharpness, on account of the great difficulty1b, or also because [God] wills to punish in both ways, so that the greater sharpness and the longer duration may make up for whatever was lacking in the other.
To that which is asked, who is purged more quickly; it must be said that the one who has the lesser liability, since the purgatorial place is not owed except by reason of liability, or of some fault. And if you object that greater charity ought to make [one] fly forth more quickly; it must be said that greater charity increases glory intensively, but not as to duration. Hence if two innocents of unequal charity were to die at the same time2b, they would fly forth at the same time, yet they would not be equally blessed. As to what is said, then, that [one] is more like to the state of glory; it must be said that it is true by reason of the ordination toward the good, but not more as to deliverance from evil; and the swifter purgation regards the rescue from evil directly, not the fitting [of the soul] for the good.
I. Concerning the conclusion itself of the first question there is no controversy. Yet St. Thomas (here q. 1. a. 3. quaestiuncula 3.) places the reason for a longer purgation in the greater adherence by which the affection is more inclined to certain venial [sins] than to others. On some difference of opinions cf. Richard of Mediavilla, here a. 1. q. 2. — On Question 1, besides St. Thomas: Alexander of Hales, S. p. IV. q. 15. m. 4. a. 4. § 3. — Bl. Albert, above d. 20. a. 5. — Peter of Tarentaise, here near the text.
II. That blessed souls, fully purged — of whom there is discussion in Question 2 — come at once to the vision of God, was denied or called into doubt by several, both in the first centuries of the Church, and in the fourteenth century, while John XXII sat [as pope], who is said to have favored this error to some extent as a private doctor, yet never taught it assertively. But the catholic truth, which is already clearly expressed in the confession of faith offered by Michael Palaeologus at the Second Council of Lyons (1274), was afterward defined by Benedict XII (Constitution Benedictus Deus, A.D. 1336), then by the Council of Florence (Decree of the union of the Greeks), and by other professions of faith. — On Question 2: Alexander of Hales, in the place cited, § 4. — Bl. Albert, here a. 10. — Peter of Tarentaise, below d. 45. q. 1. a. 1. quaestiuncula 2. — Other ancients do not treat this question explicitly, but here and there suppose the conclusion.
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- 1Vers. 12: Si quis autem superaedificat... ligna etc. — Inferius pro sed, quod plurimi codd. et ed. 1 omittunt, cod. K (I a secunda manu) constat enim, quod, cod. aa si enim omnes transferentes secundum aliquam similitudinem transferunt [ut dicit Aristot., VI. Topic. c. 2, cfr. tom. I. pag. 1, nota 8.] et peccata venialia quaedam dicantur stipula etc.Verse 12: But if anyone builds upon... wood etc. — Below, for but, which most codices and ed. 1 omit, codex K (I by a second hand) [reads] for it is established that, codex aa [reads] if indeed all who transfer [a meaning] do so according to some likeness [as Aristotle says, Topics VI. c. 2, cf. tom. I. p. 1, note 8.] and certain venial sins are called stubble etc.
- 2Hic c. 3. sumtum ex Enchirid. c. 69. n. 18.Here c. 3., taken from the Enchiridion c. 69. n. 18.
- 3Immo loc. cit. hoc affirmat (cfr. infra lit. Magistri, d. XLIV. c. 6.). Praeter sermones paulo superius citt. vide etiam Serm. 104. (alias 41. de Sanctis) in append. serm. August. — Circa finem solut. voci ignem cod. Z praemittit hunc.Indeed in the place cited he affirms this (cf. below the Master's text, d. XLIV. c. 6.). Besides the sermons cited a little above, see also Sermon 104 (otherwise 41. on the Saints) in the appendix of Augustine's sermons. — Near the end of the solution, before the word fire codex Z prefixes this.
- 4Cfr. August., XIII. de Civ. Dei, c. 3. seqq. — Superius voci ordinata cod. K (I a secunda manu) praemittit de se.Cf. Augustine, On the City of God XIII. c. 3. and following. — Above, before the word ordained codex K (I by a second hand) prefixes of itself.
- 5Codd. omittunt etiam, et fere omnes codd. cum edd. hic addunt a; post privari codd. R S T U bb subiungunt et separari. Subinde pro ergo qui cod. K (I a secunda manu) ergo quae [anima], et pro a Dei visione separari cod. F visione Dei privari.The codices omit also, and almost all the codices with the editions here add a; after deprived codices R S T U bb append and separated. Then for therefore he who codex K (I by a second hand) [reads] therefore which [soul], and for to be separated from the vision of God codex F [reads] to be deprived of the vision of God.
- 6In cod. bb additur hoc est. Inferius pro videtur et pro Sed quod ratione codd. (unus alterque iam a secunda manu correctus est) perperam substituunt non videtur, vel Sed quod non ratione. Subinde post quia anima non est supplendum duximus ibi, pro quo Alex. Hal., in purgatorio, edd. male obligata.In codex bb is added that is. Below, for it seems and for But that by reason the codices (one or another of which has now been corrected by a second hand) wrongly substitute it does not seem, or But that not by reason. Then after because the soul is not we have judged that there must be supplied, for which Alexander of Hales [has] in purgatory, the editions wrongly [have] bound.
- 7Hic c. 3. et in fundam. 2. iam allegatus.Here c. 3., and already alleged in fundamentum 2.
- 8Vat. hic et paulo inferius similiter.The Vatican edition [reads] thus here and a little below likewise.
- 9Cfr. supra d. 20. p. II. dub. 3. — Mox post rectum cod. F addit et.Cf. above d. 20. p. II. dub. 3. — Soon, after right codex F adds and.
- 1bSupple: patiendi.Supply: of suffering.
- 2bVide scholion ad praecedentem quaest.See the scholion to the preceding question. ---